What’s Keeping You Up At Night?  This age-old question was recently posed to us by a reporter.  To clarify, the question wasn’t about what is keeping us up at night, it was about what’s keeping you, our client, up at night.  The reporter and I are to check in to discuss what concerns investors most these days.  So…what is keeping you up at night?

Our initial reaction is that finances are not what’s keeping most of our clients awake at night.  Our clients have personalized investment plans and strategies designed to align with their unique goals and objectives.  Cash-flow ladders are used to meet cash needs, and diversified approaches and asset allocated portfolios are developed and implemented to potentially match investors’ wishes.

However, from an investment perspective, markets are more perplexing than usual.  On one hand, the market is clearly expensive relative to past history.  Furthermore, uncertainty remains elevated.   That makes for an uncomfortable combination.  On the other hand, corporate earnings are strong and appear to be improving.  The new year brings increased fiscal stimulus and perhaps monetary stimulus, as well. And, perhaps even more important longer-term, we are in the early stages of a technological revolution that may be even bigger than the internet.  AI is evolving rapidly and has the potential to impact nearly every aspect of our lives.  From an investment perspective, the tension between FOMO (fear of missing out) and concerns about high valuations is creating anxiety for some investors – perhaps enough to keep some awake at night.

How does one reconcile a richly valued market with innovations that could fundamentally reshape society?  We believe it comes to time horizon.  If one is needing cash in the near term, say within the next 12 to 18 months, this is likely a good time to confirm there is enough cash set aside to weather potential volatility and pullbacks.  However, if one’s time horizon is longer, even though the market is richly priced, due to the major changes happening on the AI front, and the likely impact on productivity, and cost savings, likely resulting in eventually higher earnings, it seems prudent for investors with a longer-term time horizon to remain invested.  Just know, we may be in for a bumpy ride along the way.

We would like to hear from you. Please let us know if something is keeping you up at night.  If your concern is financial, perhaps we can help by tweaking your plan and strategies to hopefully bring greater comfort.  And, even if your concerns are not financial, we still want to know what’s weighing on you.

As for the reporter… unclear whether the question is for a specific article or simply background for future stories.  Time will tell…  Either way, it’s a good question—and one we’re genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts on.